St. Joseph's Hospital — Local services in Savannah

After my mom’s fourteen-day stay at Club Saint Joseph’s Hospital in Savannah, Georgia, I wanted to recognize healthcare workers. These people are a special breed. In the last month, my mother has had firsthand experience with hospital care. I was her sidekick through morning and night shifts and observed and applauded each nurse, doctor, PA, tech, and environmental person who made our visit beyond what I could have expected.

How can I thank all the nurses and staff in the Neuro Intensive Care Unit and emergency room at St. Joseph’s Hospital? The compassion and expertise were above and beyond. It’s interesting how doctors and nurses can be different in their demeanor and still give the best care. The needs of the patients are of utmost importance. Nurses and doctors have patience for their patients. (That should be on a t-shirt.)They put their patients and families at ease by explaining each procedure and answering all questions.

So, my shout-out goes to the Neuro Intensive Care Unit and Emergency Room staff at Saint Joseph’s Hospital. May you receive the same kind of specialized care you gave our family.

Now, Club Saint Joseph’s may not be your first choice of stay when you visit Savannah. But let me enlighten you on some of the amenities it has to offer. My mother and I were blessed with a window view in each room, allowing us to watch the sunrise in the east each morning. Can you say circadian clock set?

Each nurse at the NICU is assigned two patients. They are busy caring for each need. They will help other colleagues when appropriate. The collaboration between nurses and doctors was evident and appreciated. These staff members were excited and cheery each day. Maybe they train at Disney?

Hungry? St. Joe’s is renowned for its cafeteria food, especially on Fridays. It was encouraging to see hospital staff of all ranks dining there throughout the day. Surprisingly, locals came for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The food is delicious, and you can’t beat the prices. Eating healthy for under ten dollars was a treat. Luckily, the azaleas and dogwoods were in bloom and put on a spring show at each meal.

Speaking of locals visiting, St. Joseph’s gift shop has a plethora of cool stuff, from clothing, dishes, gifts, and some necessities. They even have a website where you can order after discharge.

Feeling lonely away from home? The wait time for elevators was beneficial in meeting new acquaintances. Everyone has a story and a different plight in life. There’s always a reason for meeting certain people at times. Maybe someone needed that smile or banter at that particular time.

Well, you know I’m going to mention kindness. Sometimes, God sends angels in disguise to minister to you at your lowest points. I experienced that. I was sitting in the cafeteria when I noticed a woman looking for a table. I offered her a seat at my table. We started chatting and exchanging names. That was nice. Throughout my stay, we continued to bump into each other and offer pleasantries. She was local and even invited me to come over and take a shower and wash clothes. Stranger Danger caused me to refuse her offer. I wondered if I would have invited a stranger to my house in those circumstances. Her compassion for me, a stranger, was an act of kindness. I didn’t ask her for anything; she offered. Just having someone to talk to was a mental stress breaker. IYKYK. Brandy lost her mother that week. It was a reminder that we are not in control. God’s timing is not ours.

I believe in God’s timing in our lives. Going to the emergency room uncovered some underlying issues that my mother was not aware of at the time. She was asymptomatic- no symptoms.

I appreciate my visit to Club Saint Joe’s. However, in the future, I would like to check out some other places God has created—sand and waves may be...

I am DONE holding my tongue! This PLACE I don’t even want to call this a hospital.. KILLED my grandmother. Bet they’ll deny it though. Let’s start off with the fact in January she went in for a blood clot in her right leg. The doctors attempted to suck the blood clot out and weren’t able too, which this part isn’t their fault. Keep in mind, the only medical problem she came in with was a BLOOD CLOT in her RIGHT LEG. Well, she starts swelling up very badly. Her whole body, her arms, legs. It was bad, and my grandmother was a little women she only weighed 90 pounds… and they were dang near the size of a grown man’s arms and legs! The doctor comes in and tells us that she’s not able to be on any medication that can reduce the swelling at this time because of her being on blood pressure medicine to keep her blood pressure down.. which was weird because her blood pressure had been doing fine. After this, he checks her out and everything and looks my grandfather in the FACE and says “she’s not coming back home”. So UNPROFESSIONAL. You don’t look at a patients husband and SAY THAT especially UNEXPECTEDLY. Well the next day a new doctor comes into see her and check the swelling out. He tells us she should’ve been on a pill to reduce the swelling from the START… ARE YOU SERIOUS? So he gets her on a anti swelling pill and the swelling begins to reduce. She also had a problem with her throat where at times she would choke on her food. While she was in there they decided to take a look at it and they began handling that situation. Because she was having operations done on her throat she was NOT able to eat alone. If she was to eat ANYTHING a nurse would have to feed her or watch her EXTREMELY close because of RISK of aspiration. This was IN her chart. A nurse comes in and she tells him that she’s hungry. My grandfather bought her some pudding and she asked the nurse for some.. now instead of doing his JOB by feeding her or watching very close.. he opens the pudding for her, gives her the spoon.. and I could you not WALKS OUT. She was getting better and was going to be ready to come home soon.. well because of NEGLECTING and pure LAZINESS she ASPIRATED. This aspiration caused her lungs to fill with black gunk and cause even more extreme health problems. She stayed in the hospital until April.. and if it wasn’t for that nurse SHED BE HOME! She went to rehab to learn how to walk again because she went into hospital derealization. After a few weeks they sent her home and 3 days later she passed away in her sleep. If that aspiration NEVER happened she would STILL be here. Saint Joseph’s if you see this don’t even BOTHER replying. We do NOT want your HELP! You don’t even DESERVE my ONE star. You guys TOOK my grandmother from us! Do NOT take your loved ones here!! They’ve failed us and SO many others. My grandfather even met another couple there that brought there daughter in for BACK PAIN.. BACK PAIN YALL. And they neglected her so bad it got to a point where she was DYING and were even talking about pulling the plug on her. This hospital is HORRIBLE and should SERIOUSLY go out of business. Just look at all the other one stars! What’s done in the dark will ALWAYS...

I had an in out procedure Done on January 28. This is my first time going to Candler Hospital. I’ve had quite a few operations in my lifetime. It started off really good. I had wonderful nurses when I checked in, however, as the intern anesthesiologist and the nurse were taking me to the operating room, one of them had a needle in her hand, and she said that she had a muscle relaxant and she was going to put it in my IV. I told her that I’ve had quite a few operations before and I was not nervous and I do not want the muscle relaxant but thank you anyway. The anesthesiologist said OK but then the nurse that was pushing my bed said oh you’ll like it. It will relax you. I again stated I don’t need to be relaxed. I don’t want anything extra. I am fine. I am not nervous. I was not listened to and it was still put in my IV and that was the last thing I remember. It was definitely not just a muscle relaxant and to go against my wishes is Unbelievable. Unfortunately, it does not end there. The next thing I remember, I hear nurses trying to wake me up as you know anesthesia puts you in a fog and it’s very difficult to wake up right away from it. They kept prodding me to wake up and they got my mother and brought her back to my room. They asked if I was ready to get up and get dressed my mother Interrupted them and stated you just woke her up. She’s going to need a little time to get her bearings. They said they would come back in about 10 minutes. I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I fell back to sleep. The next thing I knew they’re waking me up again wanting me to get up and get dressed. My mother again said she is not in any shape to get up and get dressed. She can barely stay awake they kept insisting and pulled me into a sitting position. They got my legs over the side and that’s when I started to feel very dizzy and sick to my stomach as they were trying to pull me up into a standing position, I looked at my mother and said I’m going to pass out thank goodness she was there and she Managed to hold onto me. Because I did indeed pass out for about 6 to 10 seconds. When I came to my mother said to the nurses she is not ready to stand up. She needs some time so they said they come back and they did A couple minutes later after that. Again, when they came back, they were rushing me to get dressed, and they had the wheelchair ready to wheel me out to the car. By this time, my mother was quite upset that they were pushing us. I am certainly not a frail little flower, ButRushing me to get out of that hospital was absolutely Ludacris. I’m really disappointed In the care that I received, and I would caution anybody that has an in and out procedure the same day to take someone with you who will be an advocate for you. Because they...